Mentorship and Resources
Cultural Competency & Unconscious Bias |
Cultural Competency & Unconscious Bias
Recent research has demonstrated the ubiquity of unconscious bias and its detriment to diversity. We are dedicated to addressing unconscious bias and its influence on education, admissions, and recruitment at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, and are working on implementing training at multiple institutional levels.
Mentorship and resources for high-school students:
Our pipeline programs encourage high school students from diverse backgrounds to consider careers in health care.
- Community of Support program
Our Community of Support (COS) program through the Office of Health Professions Student Affairs realizes the Faculty’s commitment to social responsibility by working with the U of T Black Medical Student Association and the Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario to increase the number of Black medical students at Toronto through access to mentors, information on admissions, and guidance through the application process. This program currently has 9 chapters at various institutions in Ontario, and continues to grow. Read more about COS and access the form here.
- Summer Mentorship Program
The Summer Mentorship Program (SMP) was founded in the summer of 1994 by the Faculty of Medicine and the Toronto District School Board in partnership with the Association for the Advancement of Blacks in the Health Sciences. The program was designed to target students that are of African or Aboriginal ancestry to address key concerns about the under-representation of these groups in the health sciences. The founding groups recognized that there was a need for a program that could help support and promote the entry of disadvantaged groups into the health professions at the University of Toronto and other universities across Canada.
This program provides the students with an experience that would be difficult to replicate in a traditional secondary school setting. In the mentorship program, students explore careers in the health professions through hands-on activities, lively discussions, research, and job-shadowing in hospitals and clinical settings.The broad exposure to academic and career options allows students to make a more informed decision about what health profession is of most interest to them. The Faculty of Medicine partners with the Faculties of Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Social Work in offering the program.
- Medicine Youth Summer Program
Every summer, high school students are offered an exclusive glimpse into the world of medicine and medical research by the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. From its home in the Medical Sciences Building, in the heart of Toronto’s “Medical Discovery District”, the Med YSP offers students currently enrolled in grades 10 and 11 four unique one-week modules that each introduces a major medical discipline. Each module includes lectures from world-class faculty and hands-on experimentation, guided by distinguished medical researchers, in cutting-edge research laboratories. In addition to the enriching academic content, students get a taste of university residence life while staying at New College and participating in evening activities that showcase the city of Toronto.
- Sick Kids Student Advancement Research (StAR) Program
This program started in the summer of 2015 as a paid research internship where several graduates of the SMP worked full-time and have opportunities to take on small research projects with the guidance of their research lab mentors.
- Foundation for Student Science and Technology Co-op Course
This online coop offers individualize research mentorship, innovative experiential learning opportunities, and early exposure to STEM, medical, and interdisciplinary careers in a wide range of fields including biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, health/medical sciences, social sciences and more. Participants in this program also have the opportunity to publish in the Journal of Student Science and Technology.
There are various other initiatives occurring at University of Toronto, including the Health Institute Partnership (2 high school SMP alumni building skills and presenting to elementary school students)
Resources for Medical Students
Resources for Faculty
University of Toronto Equity sites
- University of Toronto Equity Home
- Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office
- Sexual & Gender Diversity Office (Formerly LGBTQ)
- Sexual Harassment Office
- Online Harassment